What About Me?
by Lady Dudley
Summary: Another post "Fault" fanfic. I was wondering why Olivia was the one to ask for a new partner when Elliot seemed to be the one who really wanted to change partners. This is my answer.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first SVU fanfic, so I apologise if it's awful. This is yet another post "Fault" fanfic, but it was repeated on TV1 the other day and I just had to write something for it. Hope it's not too awful. This is from Olivia's POV**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, but I wouldn't be adverse to owning Elliot if he ever came up for grabs. **

**_What About Me?_**

_What about me?_

She had half expected him to turn and ask: "What about you?" but he hadn't. He'd been so wrapped up in his own self pity and loathing. Torturing himself for the fact he'd chosen her over the job.

That she had done the same for him.

Even though she knew it was the wrong reaction, especially after he had told her she was one of two things he had left, she couldn't help wondering whether he thought she wasn't worth saving.

That he resented the impulse to check on her because her life meant nothing to him; because she meant nothing to him.

Why else would he want to throw away their partnership?

_What about me?_

She failed to see how making one mistake meant that they could no longer work together or was this merely a smoke screen to hide something deeper?

Did he truly feel that he had to continually look over his shoulder to check on her? That he had to always come to her rescue?

She had never asked him to be so protective; was it really her fault that he had some macho complex that made him feel he had to keep her, the woman, safe?

Not that he saw her as just a woman; he knew she could handle herself, that she was strong.

Perhaps that was what had shaken him up so much, to see that she _was_ vulnerable. But that was just a hazard of the job, discovering your partner's not invincible is hardly something to break up a partnership over.

_What about me?_

She had been rattled to find out he was vulnerable too. That she had failed to protect him, those few minutes when Gitano had held the gun at the back of his skull had been the longest in her life.

But he was safe now and that was all that mattered. She certainly didn't feel the need to leave him over it.

_What about me?_

Did she even get a say in this decision? Or was he just going to walk into Cragen's office and ask for a new partner?

No way in hell.

She was going to have some control over this. Taking advantage of his temporary absence she entered Cragen's office.

He looked up in surprise and she took a deep breath.

This was it.

"I want a new partner."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Since this wouldn't leave me alone I decided to do another piece, this time from Elliot's POV. This is what he was doing in his temporary absence in the first chapter. Hope you like :)**

_What about me?_

Once again he had heard her, but not really listened to what she was trying to say.

She had needed reassurance that everything was ok between them. That he hadn't meant all those things he had said to her.

But what had he done?

He'd shot his mouth off and told her they couldn't be partners any more.

Nice going.

_What about me?_

He slammed his fist into the locker.

He should have told her that he was sorry, that he hadn't meant what he said; that he truly didn't blame her for Ryan's death. It wasn't her fault that she was his weakness; that he had some convoluted protective/possessive complex when it came to her.

It wasn't her fault that she was usually so strong, so in control that he had panicked when he realised she wasn't invincible. That she could be vulnerable and there had been nothing he could do to save her.

Because that's what he did; he came in and saved her. He didn't resent it like he had told her he did, he treasured the fact that he was the only one she would ever let see her that vulnerable. That he was the one who came sailing in to her rescue, her hero.

What rankled about today was that he hadn't been there, that he had come face to face with the fact that one day he might not be so lucky. That one day he might lose her.

_What about me?_

He had to make this right.

He couldn't function without her; they balanced each other out so well that he didn't think he'd even be able to do his job without her.

He had to go tell her that he'd made another mistake today.

He made his way back into the squad room, just as Olivia was getting her stuff together. She left without so much as a backwards glance.

That was when he knew she'd done it.

He stood, by his desk, staring after her. Dimly he heard Cragen call him into his office; he obeyed the summons numbly.

Even though he was prepared, when they came, Cragen's words still felt like a blow to the gut:

"She asked for a new partner."

---

**A/N: I was thinking about it and I think that part of Elliot's problem in _Fault_ was that he likes being the hero and the realisation that some things even _he_ can't fix, that Gitano could easily have killed Olivia, is what bugged him. But that's just my theory and, as I said, only part of it.**


End file.
